Last Chance
by RiverFlowz
Summary: Abby loves Gibbs - but in all those years he never showed he loved her back. So Abby tries one more time. The last time. rated T for now, might change rating later
1. Chapter 1

"DiNozzo, sketch and shoot. McGee, computer, answering machine and phones. Kate, you're with me on the witnesses. Duck, what do you got for me?" After setting everybody to work, Gibbs crouched next to the ME, who was just testing for the time of death.  
>"Hard to say, Jethro, but I dare say the poor fellow has been dead for at least 36 hours. As for the cause of death… The first thing to come to mind would be strangulation, you can see some marks here on his neck, but I would say severe head trauma, because of the dents in his skull. Any other ideas, Mr. Palmer?" The assistant shook his head in silent agreement, after which Ducky sent him away to go get a body bag.<br>"I will know much more once I got him on my table back home, Jethro."  
>Gibbs nodded and took off, calling out the rest of the team on his way. Back at the bullpen Kate and Tony were fighting over something of absolutely no importance, while McGee was busy tracing some phone numbers for another case. But Gibbs wasn't paying attention to the noise around him. He was looking for something, pulling out drawer after drawer.<br>"Where the hell did I put the damn thing…"  
>he was muttering to himself. From the shadows under the stairs to MTAC, Abby was watching Gibbs closely. She had found this spot recently, after having yet another breakdown over the fact that Gibbs would never see her as anything else than his daughter. The thought killed her, and she had decided that she was done with it. She had loved him for nearly five years, but he would never love her back. Not the way she wanted him to love her, anyway. She was his favorite, but nowadays the title she had once loved had started to torture her. Why would he call her his favorite, kiss her cheek when she did a good job, feed her Caf-Pow! on a daily basis and not care? How could he be the smartest agent she had ever met, but not pick up all the clues she had left him? Deep in thought Abby didn't notice the fact that Gibbs had finally found his phone – on his belt – and that he was on his way to the lab. To her. And so, when she finally wandered away from the shadows, she bumped right into a lean body. The first thing she noticed were his shoes, and those showed her she had a problem. When she finally gathered the courage to look up, into his eyes, she saw his concern there.<br>"Hey Gibbs" she tried to sound like her normal self, hyper and happy, but failed miserably.  
>"Abbs, why are you standing in the middle of the bullpen instead of being in your lab?" Gibbs looked at her with something that may have been anger, but if you knew him very well, you could see that it was pure worry. He had never seen Abby so… lost.<br>"I…eh, well, I think I can speed up the process of the… the er, you know, the evidence from the new case, but then you will have to leave me alone" For the last part she was rattling, and she wouldn't meet his eyes. When he didn't say anything, but just studied the face that was still turned away from him, she couldn't take it anymore.  
>"Well I'll just be in my lab if anybody needs me" after that, she turned and fled the scene.<p>

"O my God… Abby could you be more obvious?" Abby cried out to the image in the mirror. She was in the bathroom downstairs, where nobody ever came. It had become a hideout in the past couple of weeks. Right now, she couldn't go into her lab. She hadn't really been crying, but she had been rubbing her eyes and so she had to redo all of her make-up. After finishing her make-up and take a deep breath, she walked back into the lab.  
>"Music, I need music" she mumbled. After picking out a Nine Inch Nails CD, she went back to work. She had evidence to check.<p>

While Abby collected herself and finally started doing something, Gibbs was sitting at his desk, staring and deep in thought. He'd been to Ducky earlier, and he had confirmed that their Petty Officer had in fact died from severe head trauma. Ducky was still working on all the other wounds, but it was severely suspected that _'the poor man didn't fall off his bike'_ as Ducky put it. The wounds on his neck were still unexplained, and he had countless other cuts and bruises that didn't make sense. But at the moment, Gibbs' thoughts were one floor higher than the dead petty officer – in Abby's lab. What was wrong with her? She wouldn't meet his eyes, and there was no way in hell she had come upstairs just to tell him that she wanted to be left alone. He just couldn't figure out _why_ she had been avoiding him. What he did know, was that he didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.

"Hey Abby, what's up?" Abby looked up at Kate's voice.  
>"Hey Kate! I got you those DNA samples, from our dead petty officer? Meet Leon Winters, 34 years old."<br>"Good job Abbs, thank you" Kate said. She was almost out of the lab, when Abby called her back.  
>"Kate? Do me a favor?" At Abby's nervous face, Kate was worried.<br>"What do you need Abby?"  
>"Could you take over from Gibbs? The whole come-down-ask-what-Abby's-got-feed-her-Caf-Pow!-and-leave-thing? Like, maybe not forever, but just for a while? <em>Please?"<br>_The look on her face seemed pretty desperate, and Kate had a feeling why that was. Just because Gibbs hadn't picked up the hints, didn't mean that the team was just as ignorant. Kate had suspected Abby to love Gibbs more than she showed for a while now, and she was a little worried about her friend. Of course she knew that Abby was older and more experienced than she often seemed, but Kate still felt protective of her. Abby was besides a good friend like a sister to her.  
>"Why, Abby? Has it really become that hard for you?"<br>"H-hard? What are you talking about?" Abby tried to sound nonchalant, but almost started crying at the idea that Kate figured out how she felt. Because if Kate knew, then maybe Tony knew too. Or even McGee.  
>"Abbs... I was part of the Special Forces. We were trained to pick up every single detail, no matter how unimportant it seemed" Kate walked over to Abby and gave her a supportive hug.<br>"So yeah, I figured some things out over time. But I don't think the boys know. There minds can't focus on one thing long enough" Abby smiled a little.  
>"There you go, girl. I was already afraid I lost the hyper, genius, awesome Abby in this mess" Kate smiled gently and after a last hug she left the lab.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey! I'm sorry there wasn't an intro in the first chapter, but I'm new to all this so it took some time to figure out :) **

**This is my first fanfic *ever*, so please be gentle with me? I'll try to update asap, but I've got parents too :S**

**English is NOT my first language, so if I made mistakes please tell me (nicely :)**

**Whether the chapters are long or short, depends on my muse. I'm actually trying to learn sign language at the moment, so I'll try to use that :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>When Kate walked into the bullpen, there was a worried expression on her face. Even though she told Abby everything would be alright, she wasn't so sure. She didn't lie when she told Abby that she had seen how Abby felt: but she never noticed anything real with Gibbs. She sat down at her desk and went about her work automatically. Her mind was still on Abby. How could she help her? Abby had to be pretty desperate if she wanted Kate to 'take over', because as far as Kate knew Abby lived for the moments when Gibbs came in with Caf-Pow! and a kiss. And now she wanted Kate to do it – apparently she really was desperate.<p>

While Kate tried to figure out a way to help Abby, Gibbs was on his way down to the lab. In his hand was an XXL Caf-Pow! cup. He shook it, so Abby could hear him coming – she always gave him crap about sneaking up on her.

"Hey Kate! Thanks so much I really needed – Gibbs! Err, what are you doing here?"

Abby had started talking while her back was still turned, and so she didn't see it was Gibbs walking into her lab – at first.

"I'm bringing my favorite forensic scientist her daily dose of Caf-Pow!, because I need results?"

Gibbs was a little offended and surprised at her reaction. He could sense that she was upset about something, maybe a stupid ex-boyfriend she was crying over, or maybe she just had PMS – he refused to think that it had something to do with feelings she had for him. She knew the rules, and she knew that he would never break them.

"Oh. Right, I knew that. Ehm, the apartment was checked for prints, and I found two that didn't match our dead petty officer. I'm running them through AFIS now."

"Well done Abbs. Anything else?"

"We're searching for his car as well, since it wasn't at the crime scene. There's a BOLO out on the plates. Someone tried to do big damage to the computer, but I think we can save the hard drive. It seems that the person who tried to do the damage didn't really know what he was doing, since he kinda destroyed everything except the important parts. McGee is working on it upstairs."

Just at the end of her sentence, one of the machines started peeping.

Unfortunately for Abby, Gibbs was standing between her and the machine. She closed her eyes for a millisecond – what was wrong with her karma? She was a good Goth girl, but everything seemed to be against her these days, especially when a certain special agent Gibbs was involved. Then she sneaked past Gibbs, trying very hard not to touch him.

Of course Gibbs noticed, and his brow furrowed. He didn't like it that she didn't want to touch him: why did she think he kissed her every time she did a good job? If it wasn't for her cheery attitude every moment of the day, he wouldn't be able to do his job. He _needed_ her, her happiness, her honesty, the way she held his team together…

His thoughts were interrupted by Abby, who was showing him all kinds of things on a computer screen.

"Found the first John or Jane Doe from the crime scene… These prints are from petty officer Luke Norris, 33 years old."

"Nice work, Abbs"

Gibbs tried to smile, but it came out as a grimace. He felt really weird inside, kinda like he was missing something here. He tried to shake it off while he walked out of the lab, but when he turned around inside the elevator, he wanted to run right back.

Abby was standing in the middle of the lab, shoulders hunched and her hands over her face.

When Gibbs walked back into the bullpen, his jaw was clenched tight.

"DiNozzo, find me everything there is on Luke Norris. Kate, with me. _Now!_"

Tony, who had been annoying McGee, immediately scurried back to his desk, seriously interested in why his boss was so _very_ pissed. Kate felt nauseous; she had a feeling about where this would be going.

Once she stepped into the elevator with Gibbs, he slammed the emergency break.

"What the _hell _is wrong with Abby?"

"I... Gibbs, Abby told me in private. There is no way I'm telling you."

Kate wasn't all that sure of herself, but she didn't want to break Abby's trust.

"If you don't tell me Kate, then I have a problem."

Gibbs's hand slammed into the wall next to Kate.

"Because _if you don't tell me,_ Kate, then I won't know what to do about whatever her problem is. And _that _means, that I can't help her, and I do _not_ like it if I can't take care of Abby _because that's what I do!_"

Gibbs stepped back, his hands on his head.

"I'm sorry, Kate."

He was mumbling, and Kate let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't be, Gibbs. Some smartass man tells me all the time, that saying sorry is a sign of weakness"

She smiled weakly, though she still wasn't sure what just happened. This was Gibbs, after all. Not just her boss, but also the guy that she looked up to more than to anyone else. He was supposed to be the tough one, to protect them! He wasn't supposed to break down like this.

While Kate was still trying to understand what the hell was happening, Gibbs suddenly slammed the emergency button, after the elevator started moving to the very next floor. The second that the doors started opening, he pushed Kate through them.

"I got some stuff to do... I'll see you guys later"

And with that, the elevator doors closed, leaving Kate to take the stairs back to the bullpen.

Down in her lab, Abby was working systematically. If you asked her, she wouldn't have a clue about what she was doing. But since nobody _cared_, nobody asked what she was doing. She didn't even hear the elevator come down. She only noticed Gibbs after he scared the hell out of her.

"GIBBS! What did I say about scaring me like that - _I really don't like it!"_

"Sorry, Abbs. Just came by to ask you something."

Along her sides, her hands were making half signs, a habit of hers when she was nervous. Gibbs couldn't quite make out what she was signing, but he noticed one sign that came back every time. Right there, he saw it again. Suddenly, he didn't think about what exactly he was doing anymore. He just walked up to her and grabbed her wrist.

"What exactly, does this sign mean, Abbs?"

Abby looked like a rabbit in the headlights. With her hand, the hand he was still holding, she was unconsciously signing the international sign for 'I love you'.

"I'm not gonna answer that, Gibbs."

Abby relaxed her hand and the sign disappeared. She watched Gibbs closely, worried about what he was gonna do. His jaw was clenched again, and he was still holding her hand.

"Can I have my hand back, Gibbs? I got DNA from the skin under our petty officers nails."

Abby still seemed cautious, and she was talking low – she almost seemed scared. Gibbs felt like he was going to explode – why did she act like this? Did he blow it? _Again? _No. No, not again, and definitely not with Abby. She wasn't like his ex-wives – she wasn't even a redhead for God's sake! So why was he so affected by every single thing that she did?

"The little scraps of skin under petty officer Leon Winters' nails belong to petty officer Luke Norris"

Abby sounded confused. Petty officer Winters squadmates had told them that Norris had been Winters best friend.

At that moment Gibbs' phone rang.

"Yeah, Gibbs"

He seemed surprised at what he heard, and he cut the person on the other end off.

"DiNozzo, put him in interrogation, don't leave him out of your sight and set McGee on finding this Lynn Stokes. I'll be right up."

He shut his phone and headed for the elevator, leaving Abby alone in her lab.

Abby looked at him until the elevator doors closed, holding his gaze. Then she turned back to her empty lab, her computers and her evidence.

"He's never needed you for anything but your job, Abbs"

she mumbled to herself.

"Never forget that, and you'll be just fine"

When she walked past the reflecting screens, she made the 'could-have-known' sign to herself.

When Gibbs came upstairs and into the bullpen, Tony came up to him.

"Boss, petty officer Luke Norris, 33 years old, supposedly Leon Winters' best friend, in a completely normal way of socializing for guys, of - thank you boss"

Gibbs had slapped him on the head, and Tony winced.

"According to the bar personnel Winters and Norris were having a great time, no signs of violance. They did drink very much"

said McGee.

"Also," DiNozzo chimed in, "Right now, we have a Luke Norris sitting in interrogation, having a massive hangover and claiming to have killed petty officer Winters."

The picture of petty officer Norris, that Tony had pulled up on the plasma dissapeard, only to be replaced with a picture of Lynn Stokes' drivers license.

"We found the girlfriend, Lynn Stokes, 29 years old. She works as a secretary for Colonel Bann in Norfolk, where petty officer Winters was stationed. That's how they met. Her alibi checks out, there's no way she did it Gibbs. Also, Ducky wanted to see you. He said it might be important." said Kate.

"Yeah boss, it's probably best if you see what Ducky's got before you interrogate this guy." DiNozzo again.

"We have the car yet?"

"Hold on for a second please - Yeah boss, it's an SUV Cherokee. Lynn Stokes said that she always took petty officer Winters' car to work. She came to his house this morning, saw nothing out of the ordinary and took the car. She's got an extra set of keys. It's downstairs in the evidence garage." McGee was on the phone with a friend in another jurisdiction, hoping for help with the smashed up computer.

Gibbs was already on his way to autopsy, only to be greeted with Ducky's concern:

"Ah, Jethro. Is everything alright?"

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the cliffhanger (sorta :P), chapter 3 will be up shortly.<strong>

**Please review, I'd love to know what you think!**

**Also, if you have any suggestions for the story, let me know!**

**XAM**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! **

**Here we go with chapter 3… hope you all like what this is turning into!  
>I'll be gone from this friday night till next wednesday, so you'll have to bear with my absence the next week - <strong>**sorry! But here's an update before I go ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**XAM**

* * *

><p>Ducky could read him way to good sometimes, and suddenly it annoyed Gibbs immensely.<p>

"I'm _fine_, Duck. Talk to me"

Gibbs walked over to the slab where petty officer Winters was laying.

"Very well then. Our young petty officer was held down by his neck, while his head was smashed upon some sort of ridge. You can see the dents in his skull – here, and here."

Ducky showed Gibbs the back of the dead guy's head, and he could clearly see what Ducky meant.

"Well that explains the marks on his neck. What else you got, Duck?"

The ME showed Gibbs the dead petty officers knuckles and some apparent marks and bruises on his body and face.

"He was most definitely involved in a fight, in the night that his life was taken. I already sent the little scraps of skin I found under his nails up to Abby – she should have found the DNA by now"

"Yeah, she found it. It belongs to his best friend, petty officer Luke Norris. Good job Duck."

Gibbs was already headed for the elevator when Ducky called him back.

"Jethro, why is our dear Abby in such poor state? When I went upstairs earlier, to deliver the tissue samples I found, she was almost crying! I haven't seen her this upset in a very long time."

The warning in Ducky's voice was loud and clear. Gibbs' jaw clenched, and his heart with it. Abby was hurt, and it was _his_ fault.

"I don't know, Duck."

And with that, Gibbs stalked out of autopsy, on his way to the evidence garage – and Abby.

* * *

><p>Abby was working on petty officer Winters car in the evidence garage. She was pissed, and also kinda sad. It hadn't really helped her mood when Lynn Stokes told her she took the car through the carwash this morning, and the poor girl had been scared to death when Abby came up to her in all her Gothic glory. That had earned her several pissed off glances from the team, but at the moment Abby couldn't care less. The carwash would reduce her chance of finding prints to zero, and even blood would be harder to detect.<p>

After all that bad news, Abby wasn't really in the mood for other people messing with her evidence. Which means that she sent out all the forensic extras, probably hurting some egos and breaking dreams among most of them. Of course she hadn't meant all of it, and the director would probably make her take it all back later. But then again - at the moment Abby just didn't really care.

It wasn't all that hard to find bloodstains, after all, if you had the right material she could find it anywhere. Even after a thorough carwash.

Just as she walked towards the elevator, to turn off the lights, it signaled that someone was coming down.

Abby took a deep breath, trying to make sure that she wouldn't start yelling at whoever it was coming into her domain.

Quickly, she shut off the lights and she walked back to the car, making sure her back was turned towards the elevator doors at all times.

All to quickly, she heard the elevator doors open. Someone stepped out and walked up to her, until he was right behind her. By now, she already knew who he was by the shivers running down her back.

Unconsciously, Abby leaned into him, inhaling his delicious smell and reveling in the feeling of his body against hers.

She closed her eyes. If he would say something along the lines of "What you got for me" now, she would shoot him with his own gun.

But he stayed silent, as did she. After a moment of hesistation, he slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. At her content sigh, a small smile formed around his lips.

Her eyes were still closed, enjoying the moment while it lasted. She knew him well enough to know that he would break it off, sooner rather then later, and she wouldn't stand a chance against his stubborn conviction that he would break her.

But for now, she would enjoy the way he was nuzzling her neck, peppering tiny kisses along the lines of the spider web tattoo.

She had been planning on removing the tattoo some years ago, but then she started noticing the way Gibbs looked at it when he thought she didn't see. His gaze would linger on it, and something in his eyes betrayed his feelings for her. Even though he didn't stare at it anymore - or at least not when she noticed - it was the only reason why she didn't have it removed all those years ago.

Eventually, after what seemed hours to her, she heard him sigh. He started pulling away, giving her one last, lingering kiss on the spider web tattoo.

Immediately, she felt colt without his arms around her. Her shoulders hunched slightly, missing the contact, and the skin on her neck burned. She didn't turn around, she couldn't handle his stare just yet.

"What are you doing? Why are you here?"

Her voice sounded clipped, cold. She hated herself for sounding that way, when all she wanted was turn around and kiss him senseless.

"You rather want me to leave, Abbs?"

"I... I don't know. I just don't understand..."

"I don't wanna mess up again, Abby."

His voice seemed choked, not because he was crying but because he was trying very hard not to tell her how he truly felt. He was holding back, wanting her to say it first.

Finally, she turned around, her eyes glistering with unshed tears. But they weren't just tears of sadness and pain - they were also tears of anger.

"You don't wanna mess up? What the hell do you mean, not mess up? Look at me! I've been _messed up _since the day I met you, Gibbs! How could you not see it? It's been there since day one, and in _five years _you've never noticed anything? How could you not notice, Gibbs?"

Tears were now falling along her cheeks, making her eyes look bigger then ever because of the ruined make-up. But she didn't stop them, didn't even acknowledge them.

"I _finally _convinced myself that I could do without you, Gibbs. That you would never want me anyway! I mean, look at me - I'm not a redhead, I'm goth and you're way out of my league. But still, I haven't had a real date in years!_ And that's all because of some_ _stupid marine_ _who's afraid of messing me up when I couldn't be messed up any more!_

She was going to say more, but Gibbs had heard enough. He stepped forward, his hands on her face and his lips locking with her before she realized what he was doing.

She stepped forward, slipping her arms around his neck and pulling his body flush against hers.

Their lips moved in harmony, their bodies molding together perfectly. Abby's hands went into Gibbs's hair, his went around her waist, holding her even closer.

Kissing Abby felt like heaven to Gibbs. After losing the two most precious things in his life, Shannon and Kelly, he had tried so hard to love again, but none of the women whom he'd married could give him that feeling. Shannon and he had been like two pieces of a puzzle, fitting together perfectly.

But now, with Abby, he finally felt like he was home again.

He loved her optimism, the way that she dressed, her never ending love for his team and her geniality. He loved the way she was in charge of her own life, how she would stand up to anyone who endangered her beloved ones.

Secretly, he also loved the fact that he was the only one, apart from her parents, with who she could speak in sign language.

Abby gasped into Gibbs' mouth, moaning his name. When that registered in his overloaded mind, he pulled back in surprise.

"You... Why do you call me Leroy?"

"I'm sorry, I just - Do you mind?"

Abby was fidgeting, calling herself names in her head. How could she be so stupid as to say it out loud!

"I don't, actually. I just didn't see it coming"

He gave her a lopsided grin, realizing that he was saying the truth - he really didn't mind.

"Well, for some reason I just got the feeling that you didn't like being called Gibbs. And Ducky and Jenny always call you Jethro, and people always laugh at that name though I don't know why 'cause I think it's a really cool name but no one ever calls you Leroy and I just think it suits you really well so..."

She finished in a rush, looking away, cheeks burning. She was surprised, by his soft laugh, looking up into his handsome face.

"I love it, Abby. I swear"

He grinned when he saw her face, still not convinced.

"I love it almost as much as I love you"

* * *

><p><strong>please review!<strong>

**XAM**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, so here's chapter 4... I am sooooo sorry for the long wait! My parents&real life got in the way... please forgive me!  
>I hope to update again soon, but unfortunately I can't really promise anything right now cuz my rentals took my laptop away :(<br>**

**Anyways, enjoy! **

**XAM**

* * *

><p>''You were right, you know.''<p>

They were in Gibbs' car, on the way to the Chinese restaurant near Gibbs' house to get some dinner.

''Usually am, that's why you're always able to solve your cases''

Abby grinned in his direction, which in turn made Gibbs smile.

''What exactly ya talking about this time?''

''Shannon used to call me Gibbs. Without the Leroy Jethro part. Said it was too long, and she'd just stick with Gibbs.''

This admission had Abby quiet for a sec. She was running over all the women she had seen with Gibbs over the years, but she couldn't remember anyone named Shannon.

''Who's Shannon?''

She hadn't meant to sound so harsh, and she softened her comment with a hand on his arm, like she was trying to coax him into speaking.

Gibbs's jaw clenched – but he wasn't entirely sure why: because of what he was about to say, or because of the warm hand on his arm.

''Shannon… Shannon used to be the mother of my daughter, Abbs.''

This made Abby gasp.

''You… You had a daughter? And a wife? Like, past tense? And why didn't you tell us? Didn't you trust us? The team, Ducky, me? Or should I say don't – don't you trust me?''

Abby was hurt – hurt because he was hurt, but also because apparently, he had never trusted her enough to tell her about his past with Shannon.

''Abbs…''

His voice wasn't pleading, but it was something for her to hold onto in the storm of emotions she was feeling.

''Yeah, I _had_ a wife and yes I _had _a daughter, Kelly.''

A hand was gingerly places on her thigh, like the owner of the hand wasn't entirely sure whether he was allowed to have his hand there. But even though she was confused and disappointed, Abby still felt a shiver running down her spine at his touch and she relaxed a little.

''Didn't tell a lot of people 'bout them, Abbs. And I didn't tell you, because I don't like the way people start acting around me whenever they hear my wife and daughter died. And I'm telling you now, to give you a fair warning before jumping in the deep – either with me, or without me. I would get it if ya wanna back out after hearing what you just heard.''

''Why the hell do you think I wanna "back out"? And back out of _what, _exactly? I mean, it's not like I've seen you go down on –''

She started stuttering all of a sudden, her cheeks coloring slightly, the hand on her thigh burning and her mind in the gutter.

Gibbs, guessing about her thoughts – correctly of course – looked at her as innocently as he could.

''I haven't gone down on what, Abigail?''

Her head shot up at both his use of her full name and his not-so-innocent comment, and bravely she continued – with burning cheeks.

''On _one knee, _Gibbs. It's not like we're married or anything, you don't owe me an explanation''

He grinned at her perfect way of saving her ass. Then he felt how she gently squeezed his hand – a sign of her perfect trust in him.

''You know I was a marine… did I ever tell you 'bout Desert Storm?''

From the look on her face, he continued his story.

''I was overseas, as an active member of the marine corps. My – Shannon and Kelly were at camp Pendleton, and apparently Shannon had witnessed the murder of an NIS, as it was still called back then, agent. She testified, identified the dirt bag. Later, both of them were in a car accident, 'caused by the dirt bag. He shot their driver.''

The hand on Abby's thigh was clenched into a fist by now, and Gibbs' jaw was clenched. Abby just held his hand, not knowing what to say. She knew that this was very hard on him, and she felt terribly sorry about the things that had happened to him. At the same time however, she was shaken to her core – why did she only hear about this now? So many secrets, so many explanations to so many things, and apparently so little trust had this leader in his team.

''I would trust you with my life, Abby. Every single member of my team. DiNozzo, McGee, Ziva, you, Ducky – even Palmer, though I hope it will never come to that''

A small smile appeared on Abby's face, but it wasn't entirely heartfelt.

In the meantime, they had arrived at the restaurant and Gibbs parked the car. He still didn't look into her eyes, and he had retrieved his hand from her thigh.

''I'm not gonna back down, just because you got a couple of MOAS's, Leroy.''

The sound of his given name sent a shock through him, and he closed his eyes at her words.

''Just in case you haven't noticed, I'm not as young as I seem and I have the same job you do. Well, technically not exactly "the same" job, seeing as you're a kick-ass special agent and I'm just the genius know-it-all lab rat, but you probably get the point, and – Gibbs! Why aren't you saying my name?''

''Why would I say your name, Abbs?''

Gibbs couldn't help but smile slightly at het babble.

''Well duh! I mean, I was totally babbling, and you always say my name when I'm babbling, to stop me from ranting and tell you what I found!''

''I know that, Abby. I just didn't think you would have results for me now, seeing as this is not work.''

There was a slight edge to his voice at those words, almost as if he blamed her for something. When she didn't react to his statement in any way, he turned his head to look at her.

She was looking at him, her beautiful green eyes shining with unshed tears over the horrible loss of his family, tears she didn't want to shed in front of him, tears that would prove her weak when all she ever wanted was to be strong for him. To be able to lend him her strength when his failed him.

"That took you long enough"

Abby whispered.

Then she kissed him, her arms around him and her eyes closed. The fire that burned inside her, the fire that burned for him and him alone was evident in her kiss, and he almost got burned.

But after the initial shock of her obvious faith in him, Gibbs kissed her back with equal fervor, the fire inside him burning just as strongly as it did within her – even if he didn't show, she could feel his warmth wrap around her, lifting her up.

Although, maybe that was just the lack of oxygen, making her lightheaded.

After a couple of minutes, Abby slumped back into her own seat, having leaned over into Gibbs so much that she was almost in his lap. She was panting, and slightly dizzy with the lack of oxygen.

"Well there has to be a reason for all those divorces, but there's no way it's the sex"

She mumbled to herself.

Of course, Gibbs heard her mumble and he chuckled softly, even though he had trouble breathing even just as much as she did.

"Nah, reason for that is probably the second 'b', Abbs"

He said in an amused tone.

"Yeah, I bet"

Abby answered.

"But you seem to forget something there, Leroy"

Abby grinned at him.

"Yeah? And what would that be?"

Abby leaned into Gibbs once more, her right hand on his thigh, trailing patterns, and her left hand on the base of his neck.

"I got a second 'b' as well"

She whispered in his ear.

"But mine doesn't stand for 'bastard'"

She gave him a lingering kiss in his neck and then she pulled away, settling in her own chair again – almost acting like nothing happened, whereas Gibbs had serious trouble breathing now.

"So, what are we having for dinner?"

* * *

><p>Abby couldn't help the big smile she had plastered on her face.<p>

Gibbs had walked her into the restaurant with his hand on her lower back, totally showing off that Abby was 'his' and thus taken, like he could force the people in the diner to ignore her gothic beauty.

After ordering the food they wanted, he did so _not _surprise her by telling the waiter they would take the food to go, instead of staying in the restaurant.

Back in the car, where Gibbs was pushing his poor Ford to its limits, wanting to get home as soon as possible. He didn't take any risks though – he thought his 'load' was to valuable for that. His hand was on her thigh though, trailing patterns through her stockings. Abby, enjoying the feeling of his hand so close to her skin, was leaning back in her chair, needing the support it gave her as the caffeine slowly dissipated and her tiredness of working 21 hours straight on caught up with her.

Once they arrived at Gibbs' house, Gibbs pulled up on his driveway. While Abby grabbed her stuff and the food, Gibbs walked around the car to open her door for her.

"Gee Leroy, ever the gentleman"

Abby grinned at him.

"Only for you, Abbs. Only for you"

Gibbs whispered in her ear, as he walked besides her to his front door, his arm around her. As they arrived at the door, he opened it for her, taking over the food and signing she could just dump her stuff wherever. Then he walked into the kitchen, where she followed him after taking off her coat and putting away her bag. It was quiet for some minutes, but when the food was almost ready to be eaten, Gibbs felt Abby looking at him from the other side of the kitchen.

"What?"

He asked, wondering if his shirt was buttoned the wrong way or something – wondering for a good reason as to why she was staring at him so intently.

"Hmmm…"

"What?"

"Well, you're most definitely the hottest gentleman I've ever met, but I'm not really into the whole gentle, nice, polite thing, if you know what I mean?"

Abby raised her eyebrows at him, continuing in a sweet and innocent voice:

"'Cause I kinda figured you'd be as bossy _inside _the bedroom as you are outside of it… You're not gonna prove me wrong there, are you Leroy?"

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked! <strong>

**XAM**


End file.
